The Thing About Love
by silverbullet-1st
Summary: Switch around from Together Forever, Harry goes to Hermione's for the summer...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N – Inspired by High School Musical…I couldn't help myself…it was just bugging me :(!  
This isn't going to be a One-Shot and it won't have a sequel, but it'll probably be quite long and go back to when they're at Hogwarts. So, i wanted to try my story Together Forever the other way round, with Harry staying at Hermione's house. So, I hope you enjoy it! I err...I was going to say something else...erm...uh...OH! yeah! anyone reading Togeth-no, wrong story, Bringing up the Family, i am working on it, i'm just trying to decide between three variations of chapter twelve, and i'm in the process of moving house, so it could be a while before i update it...sorry...**

**Disclaimer: _In Dull Voice _I own nothing. I am a loser. JK Rowling owns it. That sucks. **

**Chapter One**

Harry crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in the chair he was currently sitting in. He spied Dudley out of the corner of his eye chatting up some girl or another and rolled his eyes. He was bored out of his head, he didn't know anyone and the only reason he was here was because the Dursley's hadn't wanted to leave him home alone with Aunt Marge who was staying over because she was unwell. It was Dudley's best friend's party, one friend of many that hated _him_.

Harry looked up as a new song started and sighed. Karaoke. Who invented it anyway? Dudley had spent the past hour trying to humiliate him and get him up on stage. Not a chance. That was why Harry was now sitting in a chair, sulking in the furthest corner of the room.

His thoughts suddenly drifted off to Hogwarts and the wizarding world and he pictured his count down chart in his room, counting off the days until he was back at school. Of course, once Ron decided to invite him over, he wouldn't need it any more and he'd forget about it until next year, but for the time being, it was something to do. Other than homework, that is.

He looked back round to make sure that he could still see Dudley and panicked when he realised that he couldn't. His hands reached down to grip the sides of his chair and his eyes quickly scanned the room. When he finally caught sight of him with the girl he had been chatting up, he relaxed again. Harry looked the girl up and down and narrowed his eyes, thinking she looked vaguely familiar. Dudley's friends laughed either side of him as he said something and the girl stepped back, slapping his hand away as it came to rest on her waist.

Harry sighed and rose from his chair, deciding it would be fairer on the girl to have to listen to him sing than be annoyed by Dudley and his 'wack pack'. He pushed his way through the crowd, keeping Dudley in sight the whole time.

Suddenly, he felt himself being dragged to the side.

"Come on, mate, you're singing," someone said in his ear. Harry shook his head and tried to fight back.

"N-no, I can't sing, really, I can't," he replied.

"Nonsense." Another two boys joined in and Harry felt himself being lifted onto the stage.

"No, guys, please," Harry begged. They ignored him and he soon found himself standing in front of a microphone. The DJ beside him turned to face the crowd and smiled.

"Now, find him a nice young lady to sing with." Three teenagers disappeared into the crowd again and Harry looked around desperately, trying to find a way out of this. When he saw Dudley looking up at him with a grin spreading from one side of his fat face to other, he clenched his jaw and shook his head.

"No, I-I don't…I can't sing!" a voice cried out as she was pushed through the crowd by the same boys that had forced him on stage. Harry's head whipped round and he stared wide-eyed at her. If there was one person he didn't expect to see here, then it was Hermione. Two of the boys lifted Hermione up and pushed her gently onto the stage. She fell backwards into Harry and the boys smiled.

"Sorry, mate!" one of them called.

"S'alright!" Harry called back. He felt Hermione tense up in his arms.

"Harry?"

"Yes?"

"Come on, get to your mic, the song is starting," the DJ urged, pulling the two of them apart. Harry caught Hermione looking at him out of the corner of his eye and turned his head to meet her gaze, which only caused her to blush and look away. Harry looked up at the words on the screen as they appeared and cleared his throat.

"_Living in my own world. Didn't understand. That anything can happen. When you take a chance." _

He looked over at Hermione who closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"_I never believed in." _Harry's jaw dropped open and he stared at her as if he'd only just met her. "_What I couldn't see. I never opened my heart. To all the possibilities." _

"_**I know, that something has changed. Never felt this way." **_

"_And right here tonight." _

"_**This could be the start. Of something new. It feels so right. To be here with you. And now, looking in your eyes. I feel in my heart. The start of something new." **_

Harry smiled and looked over at Hermione who returned the smile shyly. As the song continued Harry spied Dudley glaring at him. He guessed it was at least half way through the song when he plucked up enough courage to take the microphone off its stand and walk up to the centre of the stage. Hermione eyed him curiously before doing the same. Harry's smile grew and as he sang, he twirled her round, causing the crowd to cheer even louder than they were already.

When the song had finished, the two of them stared at each other, breathing heavily and smiling. Hermione turned away shyly and put the microphone back on the stand. Harry followed suit and jumped off the stage before helping Hermione down.

"Let's go outside," she said, cupping her hands round his ear so that he could hear her. Harry nodded and let her drag him through the crowd. She dragged him over to a tree and hugged him as hard as she could.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. Harry shrugged.

"Dudley's friends party. I'm only here because they didn't want to leave me alone with Aunt Marge. I think they were frightened I might blow her up again or something," he replied, smiling. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Why are _you _here?" he repeated her question.

"The _idiot _who's party it is, lives round the corner from me. He hasn't stopped pestering me since I was five. He's fancied me since our last year at primary school." Harry narrowed his eyes and tried to identify the feeling that had suddenly boiled up inside of him. "The feelings, however are most certainly _not_, mutual. They were trying to chat me up earlier. Four of them."

"Do you think people would care much if I went in and gave them all a piece of my mind?" he mused, looking back through the open doors of the hall. Hermione rolled her eyes again.

"Don't be silly, Harry, they're not going to do anything with a whole bunch of guests watching."

"How about _without _a whole bunch of guests watching?" he asked, spying Dudley walking towards them with a gang of friends. As soon as he was close enough, he shoved Harry backwards.

"_You're _not meant to be talking to anyone, Potter," he sneered, looking past Harry at Hermione. Harry looked round at each of the members of Dudley's little gang in turn and weighed up his chances. Five against one. That was hardly fair.

"And why are you talking to her?" Dudley continued. "You have no right to talk to her."

"I have the right to do whatever I want," Harry snapped back, shoving Dudley's hand aside.

"This is _my _friends party, not yours or one of your freaky friends. So stay out of my way." Harry looked round at Hermione who was eying him with concern.

"I hate to break it to you," Harry hissed. "But she _is _one of my 'freaky friends'." Dudley's eyes widened in shock and he glared at the two of them.

"Yeah, right. I don't believe you." Hermione walked forward to stand beside Harry and ran her hand down his arm before sliding it into his. He smiled as Dudley's eyes flickered from one of them to the other. Before he could say anything though, he felt someone grab him from behind and drag him to the ground. Hermione's grip on his hand came loose and she quickly spun round to see what had happened. Harry dodged a punch as it was thrown at him.

"Stuart! Harry! Stop it!" Hermione cried, dragging Stuart away from Harry, who was struggling beneath him. Stuart pushed her away and his fist caught Harry square in the jaw. Hermione winced and tried again to grab hold of Stuarts jumper. Harry gritted his teeth when he saw Dudley grab Hermione's arms and he head butted the boy on top of him without even thinking. The boys head snapped back and Harry shoved him off of him.

With his head still spinning he stood up, grabbed Dudley's shirt and dragged him away from his best friend, before punching him. Somehow, he managed to stay standing, only staggering a bit.

"Don't touch her," Harry threatened.

"Harry, stop it!" Hermione cried, grabbing his fist in mid-air. Breathing heavily, Harry looked from Dudley to Hermione and then back again.

"Come on, lets go back inside." Harry clenched his jaw, but turned to let Hermione pull him back towards the hall anyway.

"No you don't, Potter," Dudley sneered. "No one beats up _my _friends and gets away with it." Hermione spun round as three of Dudley's gang grabbed Harry and dragged him backwards. Dudley looked back at the hall to make sure that no one was coming out and then rammed his fist into Harry's stomach. Harry doubled over in pain, but the two boys grabbed him by the shoulders and stood him straight again. He looked to his left to see Hermione being held by another one of the boys and glared up at Dudley. He groaned as Dudley's fist smacked into his stomach again.

"Want a go, Stu?" Dudley asked, smiling. Stuart looked over at Hermione and then Harry and smiled.

"Don't mind if I do." After a few more blows to his stomach, Stuart let his hands rest by his side. Harry grimaced in pain every time he breathed in and out and looked over at Hermione.

"Now," Stuart warned. "Don't touch my girl-"

"I'm not _your _girl and I never will be," Hermione snapped hatefully. Stuart looked round at her and was about to say something when a call came from the hall.

"Stuart? Is that you? We're cutting the cake in a minute, get in here." Stuart and Dudley looked round at Harry.

"We're not finished with you." Then, they left, throwing Harry into the dirt as they did. Hermione rushed over to kneel beside him and helped him into a sitting position with his back against the tree.

"Are you alright?" he asked, a hand clutching his stomach. Hermione looked up at him.

"You're the one that just got beaten up. I don't know why you're worrying about me." Harry smiled weakly.

"I always worry about you," he replied. It was too dark to be sure, but he thought he saw Hermione's cheeks turn a brilliant shade of red. He hissed through his teeth as Hermione lifted up his top.

"It's too dark, let's go in side and then we can see properly." Hermione awkwardly put one of his arms round her shoulder and then together, they managed to get onto their feet. The music in side had stopped and Harry could hear people cheering. Half way to the hall, Harry stopped walking.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked.

"I need to go home and lay down. I'll apparate. Thanks for all your help-"

"Don't you even think about it," she snapped, grabbing his wand from him and pulling out her own.

"We're going back to _my _house." Harry looked like he would protest, but he didn't, so Hermione drew her wand and closed her eyes. They appeared a moment later in, what Harry assumed, was Hermione's room. As soon as he felt his feet touch the floor, he collapsed, dragging Hermione down with him, somehow ending up on top of her. Hermione groaned in pain and then blushed when she looked up at Harry and took in their compromising position. Harry was an equally bright shade of red and he put his hands either side of her head in an attempt to get up.

"Hermione, is that you?" someone called up the stairs.

"Y-yes, mum!" The two of them heard footsteps and Hermione quickly helped Harry up, wriggling out from underneath him awkwardly. The two of them managed to get him sitting on the edge of her bed when Hermione's mum burst into the room.

"I though Stuarts mum was…" her voice trailed off as she saw Harry sitting on the bed and she looked him up and down before her eyes fixed onto Hermione.

"Mum! This is so not what it looks like," Hermione cried. "Stuart and his friends beat Harry up a-and I thought he should come back here, seeing as his aunt and uncle wouldn't help him if he went there." One look at Harry's bruised face and his hand clutching his stomach told her all she needed to know and she nodded.

"I'll go and get the first aid kit." With that, she disappeared. Hermione turned back to Harry.

"Take off your shirt," she ordered.

"What? Why?" Harry questioned, blushing. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"So we can see if you've cut yourself and put an ice pack on your bruises."

"Oh, right." Harry attempted to lift his shirt over his head, but only succeeded in hurting himself. "I think you might need to help me out." Hermione stepped forward and grabbed the hem of his shirt, lifting it slowly over his head so as not to hurt him and blushed when she found herself staring at his bare chest. Was it her or did it suddenly get very hot in here?

The door to Hermione's room opened again and she quickly threw his shirt over an empty chair and looked round.

"My God, what beat you up? A wild boar?" Hermione's mum cried, looking at the bruises covering his abdomen. Hermione looked too, realising that she hadn't actually looked yet, and gasped. His whole lower stomach was covered in cuts and bruises.

"I'm fine," Harry reassured them both. Hermione looked up at his face and for the first time realised that he had a cut along his bottom lip and another just under his left eye.

"Merlin, Harry," Hermione breathed, eyes scanning the many bruises covering his stomach.

"Well, here's an ice pack. I would stay to help, but I need to get your cousin to sleep downstairs." She handed the ice pack to Hermione and rushed out of the door.

"Your cousin?" Harry asked, as she helped him to rest against the pillows at the end of her bed.

"Oh, yeah, my aunt is ill, so we're looking after her two sons." Harry nodded and flinched as Hermione place the ice pack on his abdomen.

"Stop moving," she ordered, pressing it back against his bruises. "Now, hold it there." Harry did as he was told and Hermione grabbed the first aid kit before crawling up beside him on the bed.

"Honestly, Harry, you don't have to start fights to protect me all the time," Hermione scolded.

"I'll have you know that it was that boy _Stuart _who started the fight, not me, and as for Dudley, he's had it coming for a while now." Hermione shook her head and pulled something out of the first aid kit.

"This is going to sting."

"Nothing hurts the great Ha – ouch!" Harry cried, pulling away from her. Hermione laughed softly and put a hand on his neck, bringing his face back towards her so that she could clean up the cuts. Harry blushed at the close proximity and was sure he saw a faint blush on her cheeks too.

"You're such a baby," Hermione teased.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Next time I'll stand by and watch will you get your head kicked in," Harry retorted. Hermione rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time.

"I was most certainly _not _standing by and _watching_. What did you want me to do? Take on five teenage boys while you were squirming around in the dirt? Somehow, I don't think that would have turned out in our favour." Hermione moved down to the cut on his lip, wiping it gently with the wipe in her hand. Harry watched her intently as she concentrated on causing him as little pain as possible.

"Move the ice-pack," Hermione said, making him jump. Harry did as he was told and put it on the bed beside him.

"You'd make a good healer," Harry mused. Hermione looked up at him and smiled.

"Well, after all this stuff with Voldemort is over, that's what I'd like to do." Without warning, Hermione pressed a clean wipe gently into one of the small cuts on his stomach. Harry sucked in a deep breath and grabbed her hand to stop her doing it again.

"Come on, Harry, you've been through far worse than this. Stop being a baby. It's not going to get better if you don't let me clean it." Harry looked down at her hand and, sighing, let it go.

When she was finished, she hopped off the bed and grabbed the first aid kit, closing it and placing it on the night stand. Then, she sat beside him again.

"I'll owl Dumbledore in the morning and ask him if you can stay here for the last three weeks of the holidays," Hermione said, brightly. "Ron's on holiday, as you should know, so it'll just be me and you." Harry smiled.

"Well then, I have no complaints." He fluffed the pillow behind him and then painfully laid himself down. "You have a comfy bed." Hermione rolled her eyes and laid down beside him. Her eyes flickered to look at his stomach and she frowned.

"You are alright, aren't you?" she asked, nodding at it.

"Well, a bit sore, but I'll live. Like you said, I've been through far worse than that."

"What about…everything else? Voldemort and such? Are you alright with that?" she continued, in a quieter voice. Harry looked into her eyes for a few moments before turning his head to face the ceiling and closing his eyes.

"I'll be fine-"

"You're not doing this alone…you know that, right?" questioned.

"I know." Hermione reached down and gently wrapped one of her hands around his. He reached over with his over to wrap it around her waist and pulled her closer. She snuggled up to his chest and smiled when he kissed the top of her head.

The door slammed open and Hermione jumped a foot into the air. Harry quickly let go of her waist and the two of them sat up guiltily. Hermione's mum stood at the door with her dad. Hermione bit her lip, realising this didn't look good as her mum raised her eyebrows.

"My God!" Hermione cried. "Could you please knock? I might be getting changed or something!"

"With Harry in here?" Mrs. Granger asked.

"Well no, obviously…Harry could be…well…Oh, I don't know! Just knock!"

"Sorry, dear. Harry I've run you a bath. Hopefully it'll make you feel a bit better."

"Thanks, Mrs. Granger."

"That's quiet alright dear." Harry climbed off the bed followed Hermione's mum out of the door. Hermione smiled and lay back down on the bed, closing her eyes. It was going to be an interesting three weeks.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: _In Dull Voice _I own nothing. I am a loser. JK Rowling owns it. That sucks. **

**Chapter Two**

Harry stayed in the bath until the water turned cold, savouring the feeling as it washed over his body. A bag full of spare clothes had been dumped into the room, shortly after he'd climbed into the bath, and after getting out of it and pulling the plug, he looked through it for something to sleep in. He finally came across a pair of boxers and some tracksuit bottoms, which he quickly slipped on.

Zipping the bag back up, he slung it over his shoulder and walked out of the door. Hermione's room was to the right. The only room with a light on. He opened it and peeked round to make sure that she wasn't doing anything before stepping in and closing it. Harry smiled when he saw her sitting on the bed, reading. Quietly, he placed his bag beside the closed door and tiptoed to stand just behind her, then, he quickly nabbed the book from her hands.

"Hey!" Hermione cried, reaching for the book.

"What you reading?" Harry asked, turning it round and looking at the words on the page. "Romance Novel, interesting. Didn't know you read romance novels."

"Well, it's not something I like to talk about," Hermione replied. Harry shrugged and gave her back the book.

"Where am I sleeping by the way?"

"You can have the bed, I can sleep on a roll mat on the floor-"

"Don't be stupid, I'll sleep on the roll mat, I'm not robbing you of your bed."

"But _you _have bruises cover every part of your stomach. I'm not going to let you sleep on the floor." Harry thought about it for a second before yanking the cover up, climbing into the bed beside her and wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"Then we'll share the bed," he announced.

"But-"

"No, buts. Sharing the bed, end of discussion." He grabbed her book again, slipping in the bookmark that he spied laying on the bed, put the book down on the bedside table and then reached over to switch off the lamp.

"Harry…"

"Yeah?" he replied, pulling the two of them down to the pillows.

"What if my parents come in?"

"We're best friends. They won't mind. Will they?"

"I suppose not."

"Exactly, nothing to worry about." He heard Hermione sigh and smiled as she made her self comfortable beside him. Slipping an arm around her waist, Harry closed his eyes.

"Goodnight, Hermione," he whispered.

"Night, Harry. Sweet dreams."

--------

"Rise and shine, sleepy heads." Harry opened his eyes sleepily and looked around, trying to gather his bearings.

Where was he? Oh, that's right…Hermione's house.

"Come on, it's time to get up." Hermione groaned, causing Harry to look down. Her head was now resting on his chest and his arms were round her waist. She went to roll over, but Harry stopped her as she hit his stomach. Hermione stopped dead and looked up at his face for a split second before bolting upright in the bed. Her face had turned the same shade of red as a post-box and she kept switching her gaze between her mum and Harry, biting her lip nervously.

"Did you both have a nice sleep?"

"Mmm…the bed's really comfortable," Harry replied, rubbing his eyes. Hermione turned an even brighter shade of red and looked down at the bed, fiddling nervously with the sheets.

"Well, breakfast will be ready in twenty minutes, so I'll see you both down there." With that, she left, leaving the two of them alone in the room.

"Morning," Harry said, cheerfully, looking up at Hermione and rubbing his eyes. Hermione looked up at him, shyly, suddenly feeling very exposed in just her night dress.

"Morning," she whispered, still fiddling with the bed sheets. Harry lifted his head of the pillow for a second, looked her over and smiled.

"Nice choice of clothing." Hermione, once again, turned a bright shade of red and wrapped her arms around herself. Harry smirked and awkwardly sat up in the bed, shivering as the cool air hit his bare chest.

"Did you have a nice sleep?" he asked, rubbing his left arm. Hermione looked away from his face and nodded. Harry looked towards Hermione's en suite bathroom and then back at her.

"I need to get my stuff from the Dursley's, fancy a little trip over there?" Hermione looked up at him again, still with her arms wrapped around her and smiled.

"Sure, as soon as we've had breakfast we'll go over there and get your stuff." Harry nodded and yawned, stretching his arms, wincing as it pulled his bruised muscles.

"Do you…have that bag my dad dropped off last night?" Hermione asked, looking away again and standing off the bed.

"Yeah," Harry replied. "It's by the door."

"Well, I-I'm going to get changed, you can go in there after I'm done, if that's alright."

"It's fine, I'll just…" Harry looked around the room. "Occupy myself." Hermione smiled and climbed off her bed. Harry waited until she disappeared into the bathroom before standing up painfully from the bed and walking over to her cupboard. He heard the shower turn on and looked round briefly before opening the door to look inside. Unsurprisingly he found books. Grabbing the first one that he'd seen, he flicked through the pages, quite surprised to find that it was another romance novel. He placed the book back where he'd found it and picked up another, noting that this one was a Sherlock Holmes book. He smiled and flicked through the pages, interested. He kept this book under his arm and just as he was about to close the door, something caught his eye. He placed the Sherlock Holmes book on the bedside table beside him and gently pulled the book that had caught his eye from the shelf. On the front, Hermione's writing clearly told everyone not to look in the book, but Harry was curious now, and he couldn't help himself. He opened the first page and found that it was about their first day back at Hogwarts in fourth year. Harry suddenly clicked, and he shut the book.

_Hermione keeps a diary! _Harry thought, looking at the book in his hands. Biting his gum, Harry opened up to a random page and read her entry.

_Harry's been picked to be a Tri-Wizard Champion. Who would do such a thing? Why is everyone after Harry? I'm scared for him, what if he gets hurt? _

Harry stopped reading and flicked forwards.

_Harry got past his dragon. I was so scared but I'm so proud of him…_

Harry smiled to himself, feeling slightly giddy all of a sudden, deciding that nothing could ruin his good mood now. Turning to the last page of the book, he found that it ended when their fourth year did.

_Oh My GOD! I kissed Harry on the cheek! What on EARTH possessed me to do that!? Now all I can think about is Harry. I'll get no sleep at all tonight I just know it. What if I like Harry? No, that's stupid…I can't _like _him like _that_, could I?_

Harry stopped reading immediately when he heard the shower switch off and he quickly put the book back where he found it before shutting the cupboard door, grabbing the Sherlock Holmes book and jumping on the bed. He had to bite his tongue to stop himself from crying out in pain. The bathroom door opened a couple of minutes later and Hermione stepped out of the bathroom with a dressing gown on. Her hair was wet and the only other time Harry recalled seeing her hair wet was after the second challenge in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. He swallowed hard, trying to get his thoughts away from his best friends diary, not wanting her to know that he'd been invading her privacy. Hermione smiled at him as she sat on the bed and looked genuinely surprised that he was holding a book in his hands.

"Where did you get that?" she asked, looking at it.

"I err…in your cupboard, I hope you don't mind…" Harry replied. Hermione shook her head.

"No, of course not." Harry smiled and closed the book. Hermione helped him up off the bed.

"How long will you be?" she asked.

"I'll just wash my hair, until I get my dressing gown and stuff," Harry replied, opening the bathroom door.

"Okay then, I'll meet you downstairs. You'll find the kitchen easy enough."

­----

Harry stepping into the kitchen five minutes later to find Hermione fully dressed in a strap top and light blue shorts. Harry, for his part, was wearing a plain white top and a pair of Hawaiian style shorts. Both Hermione's parents sat on the opposite side of the table to her, having a conversation about something or other. On the other side of the table, two young boys were playing with their food. Hermione looked up as Harry entered and smiled at him, pulling out the chair beside her and inviting him over. Harry took the seat gratefully, trying not to hurt himself.

"So, do you two have any plans for today?" Hermione's dad asked.

"We're going over to Harry's aunt and uncles to pick up his stuff and then we'll be back here." Harry nodded and took a plate of breakfast as it was given to him, digging in quickly.

"I'm off to work," Mr. Granger announcing, standing up from the table while kissing his wife. "I'll be back later." He moved round the table to hug Hermione and then vanished from the kitchen.

"So, Harry, how are you feeling this morning?" Mrs. Granger asked.

"Better," Harry replied. "Still in pain, but a bit better."

"I suppose it'll have been that good nights sleep that you had," she said, looking over at Hermione. The teenagers blushed and Hermione sunk down into her chair. The two little boys were looking up at Harry, curiously. Neither of them said anything the rest of the way through breakfast and Hermione quickly stood up when she was finished, to leave for Harry's house.

The two of them had to catch three buses to get there and by the time they arrived it was the middle of the day. Harry took a look through the front window to see if the Dursley's were in and groaned when he saw Dudley sitting on the sofa in front of the TV.

"Should we wait until they're out?" Hermione asked.

"No, Marge would still be in there, I recon I'd be in more trouble if I did that," Harry replied, walking over to the front door and ringing the doorbell. Hermione came up behind him and the two of them jumped when the door was yanked open violently. Dudley stood there with his dad behind him and Vernon grabbed Harry before the two of them had even had a chance to register what was going on. Hermione quickly slipped through the door as it was slammed closed again.

"What do you think you are doing, boy?" Mr. Dursley roared, slamming Harry against the wall. Harry winced and his face twisted in pain.

"You think you could do that to my son and get away with it, Potter?" he grabbed Harry's hair and pulled his head back before thrusting it in Dudley's direction.

"Look what you did to him, you ungrateful, selfish little brat!" Harry and Hermione both looked at Dudley to find a cut on his bottom lip where Harry had got in his one punch.

"He deserved it!" Harry shouted back.

"Why you little-"

"Stop it! Get off Harry right this second!" Hermione shouted, pulling out her wand and pointing it at Vernon, who quickly released Harry and stepped back. Hermione lowered her wand and helped Harry to stand up properly again.

"Who the _hell _are you?" Vernon cried, glaring at Hermione.

"She's one of _his _freaky friends," Dudley answered, not taking his eyes off Hermione's wand in her right hand that hung at her side.

"How dare you bring more of your lot into _my _house!" Vernon continued.

"I'll do what I bloody well like! You have no right to tell me what to do!" Harry argued. Hermione grabbed his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Harry glared at his uncle and cousin one last time before pulling Hermione up the stairs.

"Where do you think you're going?" Vernon shouted after them. "If you don't get out of my house-" Harry spun round on the stairs.

"I'm getting out alright. I'm packing my stuff, leaving and never coming back, so you'd better learn to cook your own breakfast, do your own washing a mow the grass, because I'm not bloody doing it any more!"

"Come on," Hermione said, taking Harry's hand and pulling him up the stairs again. He was surprised to find, that as soon as they entered his room, she turned round and pulled him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around her unsurely, pulling her closer.

"Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry!"

"F-for what?"

"The Dursley's, if I'd known that they were that horrible then I would never have let you stay there with them all summer." Harry pushed her away slightly to look her in the eye.

"Look, it doesn't matter, you couldn't have done anything."

"But I-" Harry covered her mouth with his hand.

"You couldn't, okay? No matter what you think. You know I have to stay here, because of the prophecy, because of the power that I have that Voldemort doesn't, remember?" Hermione nodded and Harry took his hand away from her mouth.

"Now, we need to pack my stuff," Harry said, looking around the room at his belongings. Hermione nodded and picked up one of his text books, that was open on the floor beside his bed.

"You have actually been doing some homework then?" Hermione questioned, smiling at him as she put the book in his trunk.

"It's not like I have much else to do around here…" Harry replied, chuckling. All in all, it took them about fifteen minutes to pack away all of Harry's things, and the two of them were currently sitting on his trunk after the very difficult task of trying to close it.

"Well," Harry said, looking around the room. "We should go. I don't want to stay here any longer than I have to." Together, the two of the hauled the trunk from his room and down the stairs, only to find Dudley there waiting for them. As soon as Harry was close enough, Dudley grabbed his shirt and slammed him against the wall. Harry let out a strangled moan and closed his eyes.

"You haven't got all that's coming to you, Potter," Dudley warned before looking over at Hermione, who had also dropped her end of the trunk. "And I know where you're staying, so don't think you've heard the last of me." With that, he rammed the fist that was holding Harry's shirt into his chest and stepped back. Just in time, as the rest of the Dursley's and Marge stepped out of the living room.

"You still have this boy here, Vernon?" Marge spat, hatefully before looking at Hermione. "And who is this Vernon? One of Dudley's friends?" Harry had never seen such a look of hatred cross Hermione's face as it did that moment.

"_Her_?" Dudley sneered. "You must be joking. _She _is one of _his _friends from his _school_."

"Oh, is she now?" Marge questioned. "Why have you let her in your house, Vernon?"

"I assure you, I had no idea she was here." Hermione looked round at Harry who merely shrugged in return. Dudley looked her up and down.

"Who is she anyway, Potter? What? Are you paying her to sleep with you?" Harry balled his fist, reading to knock every single tooth out of that dumb pigs head.

"What'd be the right word to describe her, Dad?" Dudley sneered, looking round to find his father smiling at him. "Whore? Slut?"

Harry grabbed Dudley's shirt and spun him around to push him against the wall.

"Don't you _ever _say that about her again!" he shouted. "Do you hear me?" Dudley opened his mouth but nothing came out so Harry pushed him harder into the wall. "DO YOU HEAR ME?"

"Harry, stop it," Hermione said, putting a hand on his arm and pulling it away from his cousin. He shoved him one last time before letting go. When he turned round, all three adults were staring at him in utter shock.

"Good riddance," Harry muttered, pulling his wand from his robes and opening the door. He grabbed one end of the trunk, letting Hermione grab the other. As they walked out of the door, Harry flicked his wand to close it.

"That'll leave them with something to think about," he said, darkly. Hermione smiled and let him lead her to the bus stop.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: _In Dull Voice _I own nothing. I am a loser. JK Rowling owns it. That sucks. **

**Chapter Three**

By the time the two of them got back to Hermione's house it was almost time for dinner. Neither of them realised that they had been gone so long, and ended up sitting at the dinner table alone in silence. Harry jabbed his food with his fork, not really that hungry. Now that it was quiet, he'd had time to think about what he'd read in Hermione's diary.

_What if she does like me? _He thought, looking up at her. Then he asked himself the million dollar question.

_What if I like her? _Deciding that he wasn't ready to be that honest with himself and answer the question, Harry stabbed a piece of chicken with his fork before shoving it in his mouth.

"I'm err…sorry…about earlier at the Dursley's," he said, suddenly. Hermione looked up at him. "You know, a-about Dudley and-"

"Don't be sorry. I've had worse than that from, Malfoy. You of all people should know that."

"I suppose," Harry replied, shrugging. He continued to stare at her for a moment before his eyes locked onto hers.

"Hermione!" the two of them jumped and Hermione blinked, looking round at her mum who had just walked into the room.

"Sorry, what were you saying?" she asked.

"I said, I'm going to the shop, could you just look after Michael and Tom for me?"

"Um…sure…whatever."

"Thank you, honey." With that, she left, leaving the two friends in an uncomfortable silence, which neither dared to break. The two little boys that Harry had seen earlier, ran into the room and over to Hermione, the smallest one who'd only just looked like he'd learned to walk holding out his arms to be picked up. Hermione lifted him up off the floor and placed him on her lap.

"Michael, this is Harry," Hermione said, pointing at him. Harry smiled weakly at him. "Harry, this is Michael and this is Tom," she continued. Harry looked down at Tom, taking note that he looked about five or six.

"Harry's going to be staying with us until I go back to school."

"Why?" Tom asked, looking up at her.

"Because…" Hermione trailed off.

"Because my house is boring, and I want a fun summer," Harry interrupted, smiling. Tom smiled too and ran round the table to sit in the chair next to Harry. Michael was picking up pieces of chicken from Hermione's plate and eating them while she sat poking the rest of it with her fork.

"What's up?" Harry asked. Hermione's head shot up and she blushed.

"Sorry, I..err…my mind was just wondering…"

"Harry, can you play with me?" Tom asked, tugging on Harry's shirt, causing the teenage boy to look round at him in surprise.

"Err…sure…what do you want to play?"

"Can you play football?"

"Not really…"

"Come on, I'll teach you!" Thomas cried, grabbing Harry's hand and dragging him from the room. He heard Hermione laughing behind him and smiled, vowing to get her back later.

----

Thomas and Harry played for at least an hour, until Hermione's mum got back. By that time, Harry was sure that if someone put a test about football in front of him he'd pass it with flying colours. Hermione's reply to this was 'with the amount of attention you pay in class that'll be the _only _test you pass with flying colours.'

Harry wasn't sure _why _he was currently sitting on the opposite end of the sofa to Hermione with Michael and Tom in between them, watched a film called 'Fun Song Factory', which he'd decided wasn't that bad. It had sing along songs and gave him something to do which occupied his mind.

Hermione, however loathed the film even more than Malfoy, which was clearly saying something. She spent the three non stop hours of watching it, observing Harry. He was like a five year old child, watching the babies program with obvious amusement and had already picked up on some of the songs, which he hummed quietly along to. He laughed along with the two little boys as the two men in the film made faces at each other when they realised that they wouldn't get any sausages, and even joined in with the singing and actions when encouraged to. Tom and Michael seemed to have taken a liking to him, she noted, smiling secretly to herself.

As if feeling her gaze on him, Harry turned round in mid song to look at her to find her smiling at him shyly. A look of confusion mixed with concern and embarrassment crossed his face before Tom tugged his sleeve to get him singing again. Hermione noted that his singing voice wasn't half bad though it did get a bit dodgy on the higher notes. Half way through the third run of the film, Tom had managed to drag Harry up to do 'Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes' with him and Hermione watched in amusement as Harry desperately tried to keep up with the six year old and the guy on the TV. Thomas laughed at him every time he got it wrong and Michael was clapping his hands and giggling. The second time through, Harry leapt over the coffee table to her, grabbed her hand and dragged her to her feet, despite her many protests. Harry smiled when he realised that she knew the whole dance without looking at anyone and quickly abandoned trying to copy Tom and turned his attention to Hermione, who blushed when she felt him looking at her.

It wasn't until about half eight that Hermione's mum came in and told the boys that it was time for bed.

"I want Harry to take me to bed," Thomas whined, clinging onto Harry's leg. Following his lead, Michael crawled over and sat in front of Harry, sucking his thumb and looking pleadingly at his Aunt.

"Umm…Okay then, that's alright isn't it Harry?" Mrs. Granger asked.

"Of course, but I might need some help…"

"Don't worry, I'll give you hand," Hermione offered. Harry smiled and bent down to pick Michael up from the floor.

"Come on then, upstairs." Thomas laughed and bolted towards the stairs, leaving Harry, Hermione and Michael to follow him slowly. By the time they got up there, Thomas was in the bathroom with his toothbrush in his hand. Hermione took it off him and put some toothpaste on it before picking up Michaels one and brushing his teeth gently for him whilst Harry was holding him. Then the two of them went off to their room, waiting to be changed into their pyjamas, which Harry found a near impossible task, finally begging Hermione to help him with Michaels. It wasn't until she gently pushed him out of the way and he cried out in pain that she remembered he'd hurt himself. Thomas looked round in alarm and Harry fell back against the wall, clutching his stomach.

"Oh my god! Harry, I completely forgot, oh I'm so sorry," Hermione cried, rushing forward to help him down to the floor. Thomas rushed over too and Michael rolled over on the bed and crawled to the end of it, looking down at Harry.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked, kneeling beside him. Harry's face twisted in pain as he tried to move.

"I dunno, I don't think you should have touched it…I don't think I should have been up dancing either-"

"You idiot! Why did you get up if it hurt you? You were _meant _to be resting. Oh my god! I let you carry your trunk here as well! What's wrong with you! You could have caused yourself permanent damage for Christ Sake!" Hermione shouted. "And you carried Michael up the stairs and played with Thomas! What the _hell _is wrong with you?"

"Hey, calm down-"

"Calm down? How can I calm down when you're determined to cause yourself pain?"

"Look, I'm fine, it's just a few cuts and bruises-"

"A few? Harry, you got punched at least fifteen times. That is _not _a few." Without meaning to, Harry smiled as he watched Hermione fuss over him in her Hermione-like way. Thomas was standing beside the bed with wide eyes, that only grew larger as Hermione lifted Harry's top over his head to make sure she hadn't caught him and made him bleed again. Thankfully she hadn't, but she couldn't help staring at the black and blue marks covering half of his body.

"What happened?" Tom asked, looking from one cut to another. Harry and Hermione looked round at him as if only just remembering that they were there.

"Uh…Hermione was…in trouble so I tried to help her…and I got hurt," Harry replied, sucking in a deep breath as Hermione ran her fingers along a particularly nasty cut.

"Sorry," she mumbled, not at all sure why she'd done it in the first place.

"You know," Thomas said, tilting his head to the side. "When _I _cut myself, my mummy kisses it better and it _does _get better. Why don't you kiss Harry's cuts better? He has one under his eye, look, and one on his tummy." Hermione's face turned an incredible shade of red, matching Harry's perfectly.

"W-well, that's kind of different…s-she's your mummy and well, I'm not Harry's mummy, am I?" Hermione stuttered, nervously.

"No, but you're a girl and mummy says that girls make everything better. Quick, you have to kiss it before it goes all nasty like mummy says it does, I don't want Harry to get all sick because then he can't play with me." Thomas looked on the verge of tears now and Hermione looked from him to an embarrassed Harry and back again.

"B-but I-"

"Pleeeease, Hermione!" the little boy begged.

"Ple, ple," Michael joined in, bouncing up and down. Mortified, Hermione turned round to look at her best friend who had a stupid smirk plastered over his face that she wanted to wipe off and bury for ever so that it would stop mocking her.

"Maybe Thomas's mum is right. I mean…Madam Pomfrey might be missing something…" Harry pointed out.

"I'll need to be having words with his mum," Hermione hissed, glaring at him.

"Kiss it better!" Thomas interrupted, jumping up and down on the floor.

"Alright, alright!" Hermione cried, defeated. Looking back round at Harry, she took a deep breath and then slowly leaned forward to press her lips to the skin just underneath his eye. Harry felt his heart beat accelerate and he closed his eyes, moments before Hermione pulled away and then opened them to find her looking at him.

"And the one on his tummy," Thomas reminded her.

"C-can't we just let that one get better on its own?" Hermione tried, eyeing said cut.

"No!" Thomas shouted, stamping his foot. Hermione looked up at Harry helplessly and then back down at his stomach. Closing her eyes she bent down and placed a gentle kiss on the cut. Harry was sure now that his heart would leap out of his chest at any moment and could feel Hermione's hands shaking from where the were resting on his knees.

"And the one on his mouth, look!" Thomas continued. Hermione's face turned pale and she looked up at her friend, pleadingly.

"I-I don't think Hermione needs to kiss that one. I'm sure it'll get better on its own."

"But-"

"No, it's fine," Harry insisted. "I can already feel it getting better now." The little toddler finally accepted this, and Harry switched his gaze to look at Hermione. Her eyes were still closed and she jumped to her feet, turning round to tell Thomas and Michael to get into bed, quickly slipping the latter into his pyjamas first. Then, she hesitantly walked back over to Harry to help him to his feet, leaving the room as soon as she had. Harry said goodnight to the two boys and grabbed his shirt before rushing after her and grabbing her shoulder.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"Nothing," Hermione replied, shrugging him off.

"Don't give me that."

"I…just…I don't know…it was embarrassing…" Hermione whispered. "I…thought you'd find it uncomfortable talking to me afterwards-"

"Don't be stupid. I'll always be comfortable talking to you…about anything. You should know that."

"I know," Hermione replied, smiling at him. Harry kissed her forehead before pulling away and slipping his top over his head again.

"Come on, let's go and watch a film," Hermione said, dragging Harry down the stairs.


End file.
